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Snapshot of diversity in residential aged care

The Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing is proud to announce the release of a new study ‘Ageing in Australia: country of birth and language preferences of residents in aged care facilities’. The study provides an overview of utilisation rates among people born in non-English-speaking countries and/or who have a preferred language other than English. The results demonstrate a substantial degree of cultural diversity among people living in residential aged care facilities across the nation with over 30,000 (18.3%) people living in residential facilities covering a significant number of countries of birth and languages.

The findings confirm the need for a systematic, sector-wide approach to addressing linguistic diversity and for developing policies and procedures in order to cater to the needs and preferences of residents who were born in non-English-speaking countries and/or who prefer to speak a language other than English.